Updated: 2023-03-21 09:53:00 EDT


Purpose

This webpage/report is intended to aggregate information from different agencies (i.e. USACE, SFWMD, FWC, USGS and NOAA) into one spot to help inform local government agencies and stakeholders on conditions within Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary and Coastal southwest Florida. The data provided here should be considered preliminary and are subject to change.


USACE Data Summary

Daily discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE

Date

S77

S78

S79

S310

S351

S352

S354

L8

S308

S80

NthLake 1

WCA1

WCA2

WCA3

ENP 2

03-20

2896

2881

3476

184

1791

736

766

706

809

645

1051

0

0

194

1,350.743

03-19

2495

2271

3849

195

0

0

0

708

774

1000

1049

0

0

206

1,277.355

03-18

2535

1692

2921

289

0

153

216

639

797

1023

1188

0

0

198

1,338.842

03-17

3455

2761

3674

134

125

135

12

502

851

562

1168

0

0

206

1,350.743

03-16

5026

3965

4612

47

504

686

0

520

571

660

1275

0

0

216

1,344.793

03-15

3765

3684

4647

152

1704

1396

424

282

440

564

1150

0

0

268

1,438.016

03-14

3441

2655

4212

179

1989

1482

347

180

635

32

1095

0

129

145

1,451.900

03-13

2993

2639

3174

174

1563

1186

363

787

553

571

1323

0

0

99

1,499.503

03-12

2709

2330

2969

93

1462

740

520

851

647

508

1271

0

0

186

1,422.148

03-11

2920

2094

2956

111

2087

1154

768

851

599

426

1289

0

0

165

1,443.966

03-10

3866

2609

3087

60

2031

1515

653

768

559

468

1295

0

0

163

1,451.900

03-09

4733

3987

4649

142

1626

1466

682

645

758

36

1380

0

0

184

1,303.140

03-08

4463

3936

5246

160

1793

1498

728

712

766

39

1194

0

0

192

1,271.404

1 Includes discharges from Fisheating Creek, S71, S72, S84, S84X, S65E, and S65EX1

2 Estimated as S12s+(S333+S333N)-S356. If no data is present (i.e. -NR-) either S12s, S333s or S356 data is not available.

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 7-days. Data Source: USACE

Statistic

S77

S78

S79

S310

S351

S352

S354

L8

S308

S80

NthLake

WCA1

WCA2

WCA3

ENP

Average

3373

2844

3913

169

873

655

252

505

697

641

1140

0

18

205

1,364.627

Total

23613

19909

27391

1180

6113

4588

1765

3537

4877

4486

7978

0

129

1434

9,552.392

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE

Statistic

S77

S78

S79

S310

S351

S352

S354

L8

S308

S80

NthLake

WCA1

WCA2

WCA3

ENP

Average

3484

2885

3806

148

1283

934

421

627

674

503

1210

0

10

186

1,380.343

Total

45297

37504

49472

1920

16675

12147

5478

8150

8759

6534

15731

0

129

2424

17,944.453

Caloosahatchee Conditions Summary: Flow to the Caloosahatchee Estuary had a 7-day average of 1,973 cfs at S-79 with a 7-day average of 1,701 cfs (86%) coming from the lake at S-77. The 14-day moving average flow at S-79 is 1,936 cfs and has been in the optimal flow envelope (750 - 2100 cfs; RECOVER 2020) for 34 days.

Lake Flows: In the past 7 days the total outflow from Lake Okeechobee was 45,673 AF with 23,613 AF to the Caloosahatchee through S-77,4,877 AF through S-308 in Port Mayaca, 1,180 AF through S-310 in Clewiston, and 12,466 AF to the EAA through S-351, S-352, and S-354. The total net inflow to the Lake was 7,978 AF (7,978 AF from Fisheating Creek, S-71, S-72, S-84s, S-65EX, and S-65EX1) . Water conservation areas received flows of 0 AF, 129 AF, and 1,434 AF at WCA1, WCA2, and WCA3, respectively. Everglades National Park received 9,552 AF.


Lake Okeechobee Level: 14.87 ft (Operational Management Band)

Lake Okeechobee Inflow: 530 cfs

Last Week: 15.11 ft

Lake Okeechobee Outflow: 2005 cfs

Weekly Rainfall Total:

WP Franklin 0.15”

Ortona 0.10”

Moore Haven 0.21”


Lake Okeechobee


Stage Elevation

Lake Okeechobee daily average stage elevation for water year 2023 (WY2023) relative to the last two water years (red line) relative to the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS) .

Data are provisional and subject to change.


Stage and recession rates this time for the current and last three water years

Date
(Month-Day)

Water Year

Stage
(ft, NGVD29)

7-Day Recession Rate
(ft 7-d⁻¹)

30-Day Recession Rate
(ft 30-d⁻¹) B

03-19

2020

12.27

-0.14

-0.64

03-20

2021

14.81

-0.23

-0.70

03-20

2022

14.13

-0.02

-0.66

03-20

2023

14.87 A

-0.24

-0.86

A Value estimated from average stage height across L001, L005, L006, LZ40, S133TW, S352HW & S4TW

B -0.5 ft 30-d⁻¹ maximum 30-day Recession Rate for HAB Deviation

  • As of 03/20/2023 the mean stage elevation in Lake Okeechobee is within the Operational Low Sub- Management Band at a stage elevation of 14.87 feet (NGVD29).

Lake Okeechobee 7-day and 30-day water level recession/ascension rates during WY2023. Negative values indicate falling water levels (recession) and positive values indicate raising water level (ascension) during this 7-day period .

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Lake Okeechobee 7-day water level recession/ascension rates stop-light metric relative to the draft Snail Kite Performance Measure.

Data are provisional and subject to change.


Regional Rainfall

Weekly (03/14 - 03/20) rainfall totals along the Caloosahatchee River

Mointoring Location 1

Weekly
Rainfall
Total
(inches) 2

S79 (WP Franklin)

0.1

S78 (Ortona)

0.1

S77 (Moore Haven)

0.2

1 Data Source: SFWMD DBHYDRO (DBKEYS 16414,15495,16415) and USACE reports

2 Based on data from 03/14/2023 - 03/20/2023


Relative Algae Condition

Sonde monitoring locations within Lake Okeechobee conducted by SFWMD.


Daily Chlorophyll, Phycocyanin,relative ratio of Phycocyanin (Phyco) relative to Phyco and Chlorophyll (Chl) and Turbidity within Lake Okeechobee monitored by SFWMD. Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin are plotted on log-scale. Thresholds of concern/risk identified for Chlorophyll (20 and 40 μg/L) and Phycocyanin (40 μg/L; Cotterill et al 2019 & Macário et al 2015).

Data are provisional and subject to change.

  • Cotterill et al (2019) Phycocyanin sensors as an early warning system for cyanobacteria blooms concentrations: a case study in the Rotorua lakes. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 53:555–570.
  • Macário et al (2015) New insights towards the establishment of phycocyanin concentration thresholds considering species-specific variability of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Hydrobiologia 757:155–165.


Weekly mean water quality sonde Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin concentration at monitoring locations across Lake Okeechobee

Site

7-day Mean
Chlorophyll Conc.
(μg L⁻¹) 1

7-day Mean
Phycocyanin Conc.
(μg L⁻¹) 1

Green Algal
Concern Category 2

Blue-green Algae
Concern Category 3

L001

129

0

High Concern

Min. Concern

L005

37

36

Warning

Min. Concern

L006

3

6

Min. Concern

Min. Concern

LZ40

24

39

Warning

Min. Concern

POLESOUT1

11

51

Min. Concern

High Concern

POLESOUT3

7

164

Min. Concern

High Concern

1 Based on data from 03/15/2023 - 03/21/2023

2 Chlorophyll Categories:
Min. Concern: values < 20 μg L⁻¹
Warning: values ≥ 20μg L⁻¹ and <40 μg L⁻¹
High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹

3 Phycocyanin Categories:
Min. Concern: values < 40 μg L⁻¹
High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹

Algae Coverage

Cyanobacteria Index for Lake Okeechobee for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Cyanobacteria Index for Lake Okeechobee for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)



Average daily windspeed and direction and cyanobacteria algal bloom coverage of Lake Okeechobee. Data from NOAA NCCOS HAB data explorer.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Blue-Green Algae Sampling Results

Blue-green Algae sampling results for the last 30-days for the 10 county area (Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe). Data from FDEP Blue-green algae dashboard

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Of the 20 samples collected, cyanobacteria was dominate in 12 samples, 3 samples had toxins present ranging from 0.53 to 0.81 μg L⁻¹ (does not include non-detects).



Caloosahatchee River Estuary

Discharge

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last six months.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last last 30 days.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) and S-79 (to Tidal Basin) flow data along the C-43 and Caloosahatchee River. C-43 Basin Flow was calculated as the difference from S-77 and S-79.

Data are provisional and subject to change.


Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 6-month period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 30-day period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

  • As of Mar 20, discharges conditions are within the optimum RECOVER salinity envelope.


Cumulative discharge for S-79 (to Tidal Basin) and S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) for the last three Florida Water Years (May - April). Day of water year is analogous to day of year with Day 1 = May 1st.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Chlorophyll, Phycocyanin & fDOM

Top: Daily dissolved organic matter (fluorescence DOM). Middle: Daily relative fluorescence Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin observed at the floating sensor bouy at S-79 monitoring by USGS. Bottom: The relative ratio of Phycocyanin (Phyco) relative to Phyco and Chlorophyll (Chl).

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Estuary Salinity

Daily average bottom salinity data for the last 14-days from sampling locations within the tidal Caloosahatchee River Estuary relative to oyster health (Sanibel, Shell Point and Cape Coral) and tape grass (Vallisneria americana) health (Ft. Myers only) conditions.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red Tide Abundance


Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program.Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program.Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Count of samples within each abundance category within the greater Caloosahatchee River Estuary (see grey box on map)

Cell Abundance (Cells L⁻¹)

Number
of
Samples

not present/background (0-1,000)

9

very low (>1,000-10,000)

7

low (>10,000-100,000)

15

medium (>100,000-1,000,000)

18

high (>1,000,000)

15


Chlorophyll fluorescence for coastal southwest Florida for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Chlorophyll fluorescence for coastal southwest Florida for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Red Tide Forecast

Red Tide Prediction and Tracking for coastal Southwest Florida from FWC and USF link.

Upper and lower water column HAB (Red Tide) forecasted trajectories from Ocean Circulation Group at USF.Upper and lower water column HAB (Red Tide) forecasted trajectories from Ocean Circulation Group at USF.

Upper and lower water column HAB (Red Tide) forecasted trajectories from Ocean Circulation Group at USF.

Statewide Gulf of Mexico coastal Red Tide forecast from FWC and USF.

Statewide Gulf of Mexico coastal Red Tide forecast from FWC and USF.


Charlotte Harbor

Discharge

Daily discharge into Charlotte Harbor from major rivers and creeks. Data source: USGS. Grey dashed lines between points indicate a potential data gap with values linearly interpolated.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

 

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